


Cinderella, My Love

by theimpossiblepossiblegirl



Series: 52 Short Stories in 52 Weeks [3]
Category: Blackpool, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brothers Grimm, F/M, Mentions of Character Death, Slight Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:57:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5744683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theimpossiblepossiblegirl/pseuds/theimpossiblepossiblegirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rose buys a book of the collections of The Brothers Grimm, she ends up giving it to Peter when it becomes a bit too much for her. One night before bed, he reads her the story of Cinderella which causes her to have some interesting dreams.</p><p>For the purposes of this story, which picks up not long after A New Beginning, Pete Tyler is still alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cinderella, My Love

**Author's Note:**

> Week 3 of the 52 Short Stories in 52 Weeks - A retelling of a fairy tale
> 
> This is based on the Brothers Grimm telling of Cinderella, not the Disney version. Parts of this story are sourced from http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm021.html

“I should have never gotten you that book.” Rose mumbled to Peter as they sat together on the couch. It had been two months since he came to live with her and they spent either Friday or Saturday night together, reading or watching movies. She had picked up a copy of _Grimm’s Fairytales_ , wanting to finally know how the fairytales she grew up with actually went. She had given the book to Peter once she realized how gruesome some of them were. He had decided to read to her the story of Cinderella.

“It wasn’t that bad.” He commented, putting the book down on the coffee table in front of him.

“Wasn’t that bad? The step-sisters cut their feet up just to be able to go away with the Prince.”

“Yeah, but they were found out.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s still horrible.” Rose told him as she stood up from the couch. “I’m going to bed before you decide to read any more stories.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well, Rose.”

“You too, Peter. I’ll make us breakfast tomorrow, if you don’t get called out, yeah?”

“Waffles?” He asked, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Sure, whatever you want.” Giving him a grin she headed into her room, closing the door behind her.

It had been a fitful night’s sleep for Rose, having the story Peter read, in the forefront of her mind.

_When she woke up the next morning and looked down at her clothes, she saw she was still wearing the same dress she had worn the day before. Her mum had been ill and she had been helping her father to take care of her. She could see her mum struggled every day with her illness and knew it wouldn’t be long. They had tried to hide it from her that her mum had been ill, until Rose had caught on to what was happening. She had cried until her mum told her everything would be okay and consoled the young girl._

_“Rose?” Pete Tyler knocked quietly on her door before opening it, hearing her daughter’s greeting. “Your mother wants to see you.”_

_“I’ll be right there, Dad.” After her father left, she quickly got dressed before heading down the hall to her mother’s room. When she heard her mother tell her to enter, she opened the door and made her way quickly over to the bed. “How are you feeling today, Mum?”_

_“Oh sweetheart, it won’t be long. But once I’m gone, promise me something. Promise me you’ll always be good and look after your father.”_

_Her mother’s request brought tears to her eyes as she nodded her head. “Of course I will. But what will I do without you Mum?”_

_“You’ll be good and noble. I’ll still be with you, in your heart.”_

_It had been only a few hours later that her mum took her last breath and closed her eyes. She grieved for her mother and her father had built a beautiful stone, marking her mother’s grave, which she visited every day. She would weep and talk to her mother as if she were still there. It helped her to be able to talk to someone since her father hardly spoke to her._

_A year after her mother’s death, her father remarried. Along with her stepmother came two stepsisters. They took all of her nice clothes and her jewelry and banished her to the basement. She no longer had free range of the house and in order to eat, she needed to clean the house, cook their meals, and whatever else her stepmother saw fit. They no longer called her Rose, they called her Cinderella._

_One day her father was going away for business and asked the three girls what they would like as a present, upon his return._

_“Jewels and pearls, only the best.” The eldest one commented._

_“Dresses made of the finest silk.” The younger one added._

_When he turned to his own daughter, he asked her the same. “Father, break off for me the first tree branch that knocks your hat off on your way home.”_

_Pete returned in a week’s time with fine jewelry, pearls, and the dresses his stepdaughters requested along with the branch his own had requested. He watched briefly as she fled to her mother’s grace and planted the branch before speaking to her mother. His new wife was nothing like his first. She had been so kind and would always ask about Cinderella when they would visit with each other. Soon after they married he saw it must have all been a façade since he could see how horribly he treated her. If he didn’t need someone to take care of his daughter, he would have asked her to leave. Perhaps when she was of age, he would do so then._

_Cinderella visited her mother’s grave and the twig every day, three times, when she could. Most of the time she wept and wished very hard that her mother was back with them and that everything was back to normal. Before she knew it, the twig had grown into a beautiful oak tree and Cinderella was greeted by the different birds that sat upon the branches every day. One in particular was a white bird that would watch her as she moved and would often fly down and perch on her shoulder as she cried. Oh how she wished that bird to be her mother and to assure her that one day everything was going to be okay._

_Soon the entire village was in talks about a three-day ball that the King was throwing in honor of the return of his son, the Prince. Everyone in the village had been invited and on the day of the ball, Cinderella asked her stepmother if she could attend._

_“No one wants to see the likes of you, girl. Filthy and covered in rags all the time. You cannot go.”_

_But Cinderella wouldn’t relent. She begged and begged until her stepmother dumped a dish of lentils in the unlit fireplace and told her that if she could pick all of the lentils out in two hours, she could go. Cinderella made her way to the open window and called to her bird friends and asked for their assistance. Not long after, twenty birds flew into the window and over to the fireplace, helping Cinderella to collect all of the lentils. It took her one hour and she proudly brought the bowl to her stepmother._

_“I have collected them all. Now may I attend?”_

_Shocked that she had done it, her stepmother threw two bowls of lentils into the fireplace and snarled. “If you can collect all of the lentils in one hour, you may go.”_

_Once her stepmother took her leave again, Cinderella went back to the window and called for her bird friends again, asking if they could assist her. They flew in once more and they helped Cinderella to collect all of the lentils. When they finished less than an hour later, Cinderella carried both bowls to her stepmother and asked her again if she could go._

_“Just let it go, Cinderella. You will not be allowed to attend the ball.” Her stepmother told her as she gathered her own daughters together so they could leave. Cinderella’s father was waiting for them at the front door._

_After they left, Cinderella ran out of the house crying as she made her way over to her mother’s grave. She sat under the tree for twenty minutes before she looked up to see the white bird perched on the lowest branch._

_“Little bird, please help me. I want to go to the ball. Please send me gold and silver silk so I may go.” She closed her eyes and let out a breath, not sure if she would get the assistance she needed. It was only a few moments later that two of the birds brought to her a beautiful gold dress. “Thank you, little bird. Thank you.” With that, Cinderella ran into the house and quickly got ready for the ball before running all the way to the palace._

_It was as if everyone stopped when they saw her and she immediately locked eyes with the Prince. Her stepmother and stepsisters did not recognize her. Her father mumbled to himself, wondering if the stranger was his daughter, but he couldn’t tell. The entire night she spent in the arms of the Prince, Peter was his name, and every time someone else asked him to dance, he declined and said he had a partner for the evening. Cinderella knew she had to be home before the rest of her family so just before midnight, she took her leave._

_“Please, let me escort you home.” Prince Peter requested as he followed her outside._

_“I’m sorry, but you can’t.”_

_“Will you come back tomorrow?”_

_“I will try.” With one last smile, Cinderella ran off, back home._

_When Pete walked in with his wife and stepdaughters, they saw Cinderella in her rags, cleaning out the fireplace. He must have been mistaken when he thought the stranger had been his daughter. When his wife sneered at Cinderella to have their breakfast served promptly at eight the next morning, Pete knew he had to do something._

_The next night Cinderella did not ask if she could go to the ball, she simply waited until her family had left before going to the tree over her mother’s grave and asking the white bird the same request as the previous night. “Please send me gold and silver silk, little bird. I must go back to the ball.” With her request came a lovely silver dress with gold accents, much more beautiful than the one she had worn the night before. “Oh thank you, little bird, thank you!” She quickly changed and ran off to the palace where the Prince waited for her._

_They danced all night together and again when it was time for her to go home, Prince Peter asked if he could escort her home._

_“No, it’s not a good idea.”_

_As Cinderella dashed off, the Prince followed her. When he got to the land where he last saw her, a man walked out._

_“Sir, is this your property?”_

_Peter Tyler nodded his head quickly. “Yes, your Highness, it is. Is something wrong?”_

_“I saw someone enter and climb into that tree.” He gestured to one of the trees near the chicken coop._

_“I am sorry, I did not see anyone.”_

_“Sir, please if you will, cut down that tree.”_

_Pete Tyler did as he was asked and cut down the tree. When no one appeared when the tree fell, Prince Peter apologized for the inconvenience. Pete Tyler assured him it was no problem before the Prince took off once more, vowing to stop his mystery girl from leaving the next night._

_Like the previous two nights, Cinderella took to asking the little white bird for a garment to wear to the ball._

_“Just once more, little bird. I need something breathtaking.” Cinderella asked the bird, a hopeful look on her face._

_Once more, the birds dropped a gorgeous gold and silver dress onto Cinderella’s lap. Her third dress was so much more beautiful than the last two she was gifted and she rushed to put it on. Again, she danced the entire night with the Prince, all while he was trying to figure out whom she was. At the end of the night, as Cinderella rushed off, her beautiful glass slipper was yanked from her foot as she caught herself in one of the Prince’s traps. Not stopping to collect it, she ran as fast as she could back to the house._

_The next day, Prince Peter made it to her family’s house with the glass slipper in his hand. Something kept drawing him to this house and he hoped that his mystery woman was residing here._

_“Mister Tyler, might I ask, do you have any young maidens that reside here?”_

_“Yes, I do.”_

_“Might I request that they try on this slipper?”_

_Pete gestured to his eldest stepdaughter and she tried the shoe on. When it didn’t fit quite right the first time, she ran into the house crying to her mother._

_“You must cut off your toes, daughter.” Her mother told her as she handed her the sharpest knife they had. “For once you are the Queen, you will never have to walk again.”_

_Accepting her mother’s advice, she cut off her toes and placed the glass slipper on her foot. When the Prince saw that her foot did in fact fit in the glass slipper, he asked her to accompany him back to the Palace._

_As they rode back to the Palace, they passed a low hanging branch, upon which two black crows were perched._

_Rook di goo, rook di goo!_

_There's blood in the shoe._

_The shoe is too tight,_

_This bride is not right!_

_Cried the birds, causing Prince Peter to look down at his companion’s foot. The birds had been correct as he could see the blood seeping out of the slipper. He asked the driver to turn around and he brought the girl back to her family’s house._

_“Mister Tyler, sir, do you have any other young maidens residing here?”_

_“Yes, my other stepdaughter.” Pete called the youngest of the pair down and they tried the slipper on her foot. She too had trouble fitting into the slipper._

_“Daughter, you must cut off the heel of your foot as to make the slipper fit. For once you are Queen, you will no longer have to walk.”_

_Accepting her mother’s advice, she cut off the heel of her foot and slipped the glass slipper on. Walking over to the Prince, she showed him that the glass slipper did fit. He whisked her off into his carriage and the pair made their way to the Palace. As they passed the same hanging branch, he heard the crows repeat the phrase they had muttered earlier._

_Rook di goo, rook di goo!_

_There's blood in the shoe._

_The shoe is too tight,_

_This bride is not right!_

_He checked his companion’s foot and saw it was bleeding. The birds had been correct again. He once again asked the driver to turn around and brought the girl back to her family’s house._

_“Mister Tyler, sir, are there any other young maidens residing here?”_

_“Just old Cinderella, your highness.” Her stepmother sneered. “But you do not wish to see her. For she is covered in soot and only wears rags.”_

_“I wish to make my own judgement, ma’am. Please, I wish to see her.”_

_Pete made his way back into the house and asked Cinderella to come out. After quickly washing up, she made her way outside and was met by the Prince. He helped her to try the slipper on and grinned once he realized it was in fact her. He whisked the young girl up and into the carriage to make their way to the Palace. As they passed the branch where he had stopped twice before, he heard the crows call out._

_Rook di goo, rook di goo!_

_No blood's in the shoe._

_The shoe's not too tight,_

_This bride is right!_

_Once he was sure this was the right companion, he slipped his hand over hers as the two birds flew to sit on her shoulders. He wasn’t sure what deity brought them together, but he was grateful._

_When the time came for the pair to be wed, the maiden’s stepsisters tried to make up with her. Cinderella always had a big heart and forgave them. However, the two birds that stayed close to her since her arrival at the Palace had other thoughts. They both dived in and attached her stepsisters, leaving them both blind in one eye. After the wedding ceremony, when Cinderella’s stepsisters came out of the church, the two birds attached them once more, leaving them blind in the other eye._

_As Cinderella stepped from the church, she saw her father standing under a tree with a woman that looked like her mother, at least how she remembered her, before the pair walked away. It seems her stepmother’s meddling had caused him to die, to go back to the one woman he could have ever loved. Cinderella was brought from her vision by her new husband, wanting to make sure she was okay._

Rose woke up with a scream and sat up in bed, willing the tears to go away. She must have woken Peter up because he barged into her room, holding his gun out to see who was attacking her.

“Rose!”

Turning her head, she let out a gasp, seeing him with his weapon. “I’m fine. Please, put that away.”

“Sorry.” He left the room, only to return a few moments later to sit on her bed and pull her into a hug. “What happened?” He whispered soothingly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Bad dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I need to call Mum, make sure she and Dad are okay.” She reached out to the nightstand and picked her phone up, dialing her mum’s number. It had taken several rings for her to get an answer. “Mum?”

“Rose, sweetheart, what’s wrong? It’s almost three in the morning.” Jackie answered, half asleep.

She hadn’t checked the time before calling her mum and it made her feel worse. “I’m sorry, Mum. I just needed to make sure you and dad were okay.”

“We’re both fine, sweetheart. We were sleeping.” Jackie mumbled out, not fully understanding what was going on.

“I’m sorry that I woke you. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“It’s okay. Why don’t you come over for lunch? It’ll make you feel better.”

“I will.” Rose ended their call before placing her phone back on the nightstand. “I didn’t mean to wake you either.”

“It’s okay. What happened that’s got you so rattled?”

“It’s that stupid story you told me, Peter. I had a dream about it. Mum died then at the end Dad did too. It was horrible.”

“I’m sorry Rose. I shouldn’t have read it to you. Do you want to try to go back to sleep?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“I can stay in here with you, if you want.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

After they settled into Rose’s bed, facing each other, it was then that Rose realized the Prince in her dream had been Peter. With a slight blush, she snuggled down under the blankets more before closing her eyes. She would never live it down if Peter knew she dreamt about him.


End file.
